Kathmandu. The ongoing Inclusive Insurance 2026 (International Conference on Inclusive Insurance) in Kigali, Rwanda has urged insurance service providers to provide affordable and effective services that are accessible to the general public.
According to local media house News Times, speakers at the conference stressed that it is not enough to increase the coverage of insurance, but also to introduce insurance plans that provide meaningful protection against financial risk.
Rwanda aims to increase insurance penetration to 45 percent by 2035 as part of its National Insurance Strategy. According to the FinScope 2024 survey, the number of adults with personal insurance increased from 17 percent in 2020 to 2.1 million in 2024.
Accessible and reliable services The Governor of the Rwanda National Bank, Soraya Hakujiaremye, said that access to high insurance should not be the ultimate goal in itself, but a means to win the trust of the citizens and provide the right protection. She pointed out that insurance should be made available to the underserved through digital technology and innovation.
The Rwandan government runs a 40 percent subsidy agricultural insurance program for farmers, which is a great example of public-private sector collaboration.
Andrew Kulaige, president of the Rwanda Insurance Association, said that of the $269 billion in economic losses caused by natural disasters worldwide in 2023, only 40 percent were covered by insurance. He said that due to lack of adequate insurance, vulnerable families are forced to exhaust their savings or take out loans.
Renate Bleich, president of the Munich Re Foundation and Laura Elena Rosado, acting board chair of the microinsurance network, stressed the need for all sectors to work together to create effective insurance products to protect against risks such as climate change and health emergencies.
